Sandy McCarthy
Born (1972-06-15) June 15, 1972
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Calgary Flames
Tampa Bay Lightning
Philadelphia Flyers
Carolina Hurricanes
New York Rangers
Boston Bruins
NHL Draft 52nd overall, 1991
Calgary Flames
Playing career 1992–2004

Sandy McCarthy (born June 15, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins.

Playing career

McCarthy grew up playing minor hockey in the Barrie Minor Hockey Association with the Flyers rep program. He played Jr.C. hockey at age 15 with the Midland Centennials before elevating to the Hawkesbury Hawks Jr.A. club of the Central Junior Hockey League.

In May of 1989, McCarthy was selected by the Niagara Falls Thunder in the 11th round (163rd overall) of the OHL Priority Selection. After not being signed by the Thunder, McCarthy's rights were waived to the QMJHL Laval Titan where he starred for 3 years - including a trip to the Memorial Cup in Hamilton in 1990.

McCarthy was selected by the Calgary Flames in the third round (52nd overall) of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He began playing hockey in the Georgian Bay Junior C Hockey League with the Midland Centennials and the Central Junior A Hockey League for the Hawkesbury Hawks. As a power forward, McCarthy played for the QMJHL Laval Titan in the 1989–90 season before being drafted by the Calgary Flames. He played one last season with the Titan. His next stop was during the 1992–93 season for the IHL's Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Throughout his career with the Flames he played the role as the enforcer, with many major fights.[1]

While playing in the NHL, McCarthy became well-known for incidents surrounding racial slurs. In the year 1998, McCarthy was accused of racial insensitivity in the form of gestures against African-American player Peter Worrell.[2] Along with teammate Darcy Tucker, allegations were denied and the victim, Worrell, also confirmed he had not seen or heard any racial insults made towards him from either of the Tampa Bay players. McCarthy stated that growing up half aboriginal and half black, he would "never go there" because he had to go through racial taunts growing up.[2] This incident occurred during a game against the Florida Panthers while McCarthy was with Tampa Bay Lightning in 1998.

The following season in 1999, McCarthy was playing for the Philadelphia Flyers when he stated that Toronto Maple Leafs player Tie Domi made racial slurs towards him. Domi insisted this was a false accusation against him and went on to say he had no respect for McCarthy and would never partake in a fight with him. An NHL investigation was also conducted that reinforced Domi's denial.[3]

As his time in the NHL progressed, he switched from his role as a power forward in junior hockey to more of a pressure player, offensively as well as defensively.[1]

McCarthy remained in Calgary for the next five years before being traded, in 1998, to the Tampa Bay Lightning, for a short stay. His next stop was with the Philadelphia Flyers for the next two seasons then a brief stint for the Carolina Hurricanes. McCarthy then moved on to the New York Rangers in August 2000 where he scored a career season high 11 goals. The next season, he scored a career high in points with 23.

One of his more infamous fights happened while a member of the New York Rangers. In a game on November 8, 2001, against the New York Islanders, McCarthy challenged defenceman Eric Cairns to a fight which Cairns refused. Later in the shift, McCarthy scored and as McCarthy celebrated, Cairns gave him a jab to the jaw, which led to a fight between Cairns and Steve McKenna. While Cairns was in the penalty box, he was called chicken by Theoren Fleury who flapped his arms like a chicken to suggest that Cairns was afraid to fight McCarthy, who flexed his biceps and looked at Cairns.[4] The next time the two teams played against each other on December 21, 2001 Cairns fought McCarthy and beat him.[5]

McCarthy signed with the Boston Bruins during the summer of 2003 then was claimed off waivers at the 2004 trade deadline by the Rangers.

In 2012, McCarthy was inducted into the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame in Barrie, Ontario.[6]

In his 735 games, 15 season NHL career, McCarthy recorded 72 goals, 76 assists and 1554 penalty minutes.[7] In his 11 seasons in the NHL he made just over 7 million dollars, increasing his yearly amount each year he played.[8]

Coaching career

After 15 seasons in the NHL, McCarthy changed his focus from professional hockey to becoming an assistant head coach with the Woodstock Slammers, a Junior A team in New Brunswick.[9] Andrew McCain, President of the Junior A team stated McCarthy was a "motivator who had strong beliefs in detection and discipline" which would help the team reach their goal of making it to the Royal Bank cup.[9] In 2015, McCarthy became a part of the coaching staff of the team and later became the head coach.[10]

Personal life

McCarthy's father is Black, while his mother is a white woman from Newfoundland.[11] He claims that his mother also has Mi'kmaq ancestry.[12][13][14]

Born in Toronto, McCarthy moved to Barrie, Ontario as a young boy and lived across the street from the rink in Allandale.[15] He now lives in Woodstock, New Brunswick. He was previously the head coach of the Campbellton Tigers of the Maritime Hockey League but left in September 2021 to focus on his personal health. He was replaced as Head Coach by Charles Leblanc.[16]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Midland Centennials GBJHL 18 2 1 3 70 — — — — —
1988–89 Hawkesbury Hawks CJHL 42 4 11 15 139 — — — — —
1989–90 Laval Titan QMJHL 65 10 11 21 269 14 3 3 6 60
1990–91 Laval Titan QMJHL 68 21 19 40 297 13 6 5 11 67
1991–92 Laval Titan QMJHL 62 39 51 90 326 8 4 5 9 81
1992–93 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 77 18 20 38 220 — — — — —
1993–94 Calgary Flames NHL 79 5 5 10 173 7 0 0 0 34
1994–95 Calgary Flames NHL 37 5 3 8 101 6 0 1 1 17
1995–96 Calgary Flames NHL 75 9 7 16 173 4 0 0 0 10
1996–97 Calgary Flames NHL 33 3 5 8 113 — — — — —
1997–98 Calgary Flames NHL 52 8 5 13 170 — — — — —
1997–98 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 14 0 5 5 71 — — — — —
1998–99 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 67 5 7 12 135 — — — — —
1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 13 0 1 1 25 6 0 1 1 0
1999–2000 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 58 6 5 11 111 — — — — —
1999–2000 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 13 0 0 0 9 — — — — —
2000–01 New York Rangers NHL 81 11 10 21 171 — — — — —
2001–02 New York Rangers NHL 82 10 13 23 171 — — — — —
2002–03 New York Rangers NHL 82 6 9 15 81 — — — — —
2003–04 Boston Bruins NHL 37 3 1 4 28 — — — — —
2003–04 New York Rangers NHL 13 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 736 72 76 148 1534 23 0 2 2 61

Transactions

References

  1. 1 2 "Hockey Hall of Fame".
  2. 1 2 "N.H.L.: Notebook -- Tampa Bay; N.H.L. Investigates Alleged Racial Slurs". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1998-10-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Tie Domi vs Sandy McCarthy". Pension Plan Puppets. 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  4. ↑ Dellapina, John (December 21, 2001). "Rangers Issue Fightin' Words McCarthy, Fleury Target Isles' Cairns". NY Daily News. New York. Retrieved November 28, 2001.
  5. ↑ Caldwell, Dave (December 22, 2001). "Hockey; Cairns Doesn't Back Down, and Neither Do Isles". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Free Press Online Sports". Hornets coach inducted in Barrie Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Barrie Sports Hall of Fame Society". Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  8. ↑ "Salary History". Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Slammers Hire Assistant Head Coach". slammershockey.ca/news.
  10. ↑ "Banquet Held". slammershockey.ca/news.
  11. ↑ "NHL faces another racial accusation". Saipan Tribune. 29 April 1999. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  12. ↑ "N.H.L.: Notebook -- Tampa Bay; N.H.L. Investigates Alleged Racial Slurs". The New York Times. 1998-10-07.
  13. ↑ Rhoden, William C. (1999-04-28). "Sports of The Times; Hockey Pioneer Takes the Sport to Another Level". The New York Times.
  14. ↑ "Native Hockey". 2015-10-25. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  15. ↑ Pereira, Gene (2 October 2012). "Former NHLer says he'll always respect enforcers". The Barrie Examiner. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  16. ↑ "Sandy McCarthy to put career on hold for Health Reasons". Campbellton Tigers. September 9, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  17. ↑ "1998 NHL Transactions: Calgary Flames, Traded". Fox Sports. September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  18. ↑ El-Bashir, Tarik (March 21, 1999). "N.H.L.: Trade Roundup -- Islanders; 3 Veterans Are Traded As Rebuilding Begins". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Hurricanes Acquire Sandy McCarthy From Philadelphia". nhl.com. Carolina Hurricanes. March 14, 2000. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Hockey; Rangers Trade for Toughness". nhl.com. The New York Times. August 4, 2000. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  21. ↑ "NHL Player Search: Sandy McCarthy". hhof.com. Hockey Hall of Fame. September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Rangers' dump aids Senators' quest". espn.com. ESPN. March 9, 2004. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
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